35 Years After Her Operatic Debut Freni Makes Teen-Agers Credible

By ALLAN KOZINN

Published: March 1, 1990

The operatic heroines Mirella Freni likes best, and the roles that have won her the most lavish praise, are young women who are scarcely past their teens. Manon Lescaut, the Puccini title role she is currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera, is 18 years old and alluring enough to arouse the passions that propel the work. Micaela, a role she sang last season in the Met's ''Carmen,'' is young and innocent. And the roles she plans to sing at the Met next season -Susanna, Figaro's headstrong bride-to-be in Mozart's ''Nozze di Figaro,'' and the frail Mimi in Puccini's ''Boheme'' - also require youthful looks and a voice that is pure and flexible.

What particularly pleases Miss Freni is that although she is 55 years old and a grandmother, she is able to portray these young women in a way that critics and opera lovers find persuasive.

''Perhaps it is my spirit,'' the Italian soprano told a vistor the other day, speaking in accented but fluent English. ''Because inside, I am still young. Not a teen-ager, but I have an enthusiasm for life that I think may come out on the stage. This spirit is very important in Manon. I think I can play these roles better now than when I was younger, because I know more about life. Maturity gives you greater possibilities, which I think instinctively come out. And thank God I am not so fat, so also the figure could be believable, no?''

Loving, Leaving and Dying

As the Puccini work begins, Manon is on her way to a convent, escorted by her brother. They stop at an inn, where an instant romance is sparked between Manon and the Chevalier Des Grieux. The old, wealthy Geronte has his eye on Manon too, and persuades her brother to let him abduct her. Warned of the plot, Des Grieux and Manon escape together instead.

Manon is eventually lured to Geronte, but Des Grieux finds her. She is about to leave with him when Geronte surprises them and has Manon arrested. She is sentenced to be transported to Louisiana, but Des Grieux manages to join her on the journey by persuading the ship's captain to take him on as a cabin boy. In the final act, Manon dies - after a glorious dramatic aria, ''Sola, perduta, abbandonata'' - with the loyal Des Grieux at her side.

''It is incredible what Puccini has written,'' Miss Freni said of the opera and her role in it. ''There is the immediate attraction between Manon and Des Grieux. Suddenly the music becomes more passionate, and that passion in the music returns every time Puccini has Manon and Des Grieux together. It is something special, that attraction, and something fatal, for her. And starting with the second act, Puccini builds the music in a way that shows how Manon changes.''

''Everything that is inside her begins to come out,'' Miss Freni continued. ''In the third act, she begins to become a little tragic, and in the last act, she finally realizes what she has done. For Manon, everything is instinct. What she feels, she does. So when Geronte comes back and finds her with Des Grieux, she doesn't make excuses. She says, 'You are old, and we are young.' She is not a prima donna. She is a young girl who is full of life. And for this reason, she is always in trouble.

''But I try to read between the lines, to put in also something of my personality, because I must do my Manon. What I think about is the end, when she is dying and she tells Des Grieux, 'Oh my love, my love it could be forever.' For me, this is Manon, and this moment helps me to build her character.''

Danger in Shifting Gears

Miss Freni's voice is a lyric soprano, and an especially supple one. Manon, however, is a role that usually requires the heftier sound of a dramatic soprano. But she has been singing the role since 1982, and she said that she now feels entirely comfortable with it. She said, too, that she is keenly aware of the dangers that face a lyric soprano who moves into the dramatic repertory. She has made that move cautiously and gradually, and has found ways to arrange her schedule - which is limited to about 45 performances a year - with a balance in the kinds of demands made on her voice.

''The important thing in this kind of role,'' she said, ''is that when the dramatic moment arrives, your voice must pass through the orchestra in the right way, not by screaming. I have studied hard to find the right way to do this, without forcing my vocal cords. If you push your voice too hard, you can destroy it.

''When I was younger,'' she added, ''I never believed that I could sing these roles. I kept to my own repertory, and I took care to have time between performances, not only to relax, but to study and to become more secure with my technique. Later, when I did begin to sing the heavier roles, I was always looking and listening, to know whether the music suited me. Sometimes, you can do it with the voice but the body is not in the right balance. So I go slowly, slowly, step by step. I am always listening, and I am ready to cancel if I feel that it is too much for me.''

She said, in fact, that five years ago she began including in her contracts a clause that would allow her to withdraw from productions if she did not feel she was in good form. ''Why? Because the time will naturally arrive,'' she explained, ''when I must say goodbye. Not maybe. This will happen. It is very important to be honest and realistic.